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lawbooks600's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Representation: N/A
Score: Five points out of ten.
Oh, look, another BookTok book. I got this one alongside others from the library and after enjoying another novel, Lightlark seemed right up my alley. A high YA fantasy story? That sounds like an outstanding read. I finally picked it up and read Lightlark, but when I finished it, I was underwhelmed. Maybe Nightbane could be better.
It starts with the first character I see, Isla Crown, living in Wildling, one of the six realms, wanting to restore its glory after the curse plagued the world she resides in. She has an opportunity to do so when the central island, Lightlark, rises, allowing six rulers to fight to the death to remove their afflictions. There are so many flaws in Lightlark, I don't know where to begin. The pacing is too tedious and not engaging enough for me to continue reading. A typical edition would clock in at under 400 pages, but this one had over 700 due to the large print. I couldn't connect or relate to the characters. The worldbuilding isn't there; there's no explanation as to why the ordeals are there. If curse-affected Wildlings must kill their partners, how come Isla fell in love with someone without murdering him? The writing style is rudimentary (I get it. The author could've used that writing method to make Lightlark more accessible, but it juxtaposes the setting and the text would be better off as more eloquent prose.) Did I mention Lightlark copied The Hunger Games? To equate the former to authors like Marie Lu, Marissa Meyer and Leigh Bardugo would be an insult. By the time the narrative ended, I didn't care about anything in there anymore.
To summarise, Lightlark joins a long line of underwhelming, overrated and overhyped BookTok publications that did not live up to their promises, like A Winter's Promise and The Hazel Wood.
Score: Five points out of ten.
Oh, look, another BookTok book. I got this one alongside others from the library and after enjoying another novel, Lightlark seemed right up my alley. A high YA fantasy story? That sounds like an outstanding read. I finally picked it up and read Lightlark, but when I finished it, I was underwhelmed. Maybe Nightbane could be better.
It starts with the first character I see, Isla Crown, living in Wildling, one of the six realms, wanting to restore its glory after the curse plagued the world she resides in. She has an opportunity to do so when the central island, Lightlark, rises, allowing six rulers to fight to the death to remove their afflictions. There are so many flaws in Lightlark, I don't know where to begin. The pacing is too tedious and not engaging enough for me to continue reading. A typical edition would clock in at under 400 pages, but this one had over 700 due to the large print. I couldn't connect or relate to the characters. The worldbuilding isn't there; there's no explanation as to why the ordeals are there. If curse-affected Wildlings must kill their partners, how come Isla fell in love with someone without murdering him? The writing style is rudimentary (I get it. The author could've used that writing method to make Lightlark more accessible, but it juxtaposes the setting and the text would be better off as more eloquent prose.) Did I mention Lightlark copied The Hunger Games? To equate the former to authors like Marie Lu, Marissa Meyer and Leigh Bardugo would be an insult. By the time the narrative ended, I didn't care about anything in there anymore.
To summarise, Lightlark joins a long line of underwhelming, overrated and overhyped BookTok publications that did not live up to their promises, like A Winter's Promise and The Hazel Wood.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Full trigger warnings: Death of people in the past, murder, blood depiction, physical assault and injury, building collapsebronzel's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Violence, Vomit, and Gaslighting
Minor: Cannibalism, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Death
barbiedreamlibrary's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I actually enjoyed the book, keep in mind its geared towards YA/new adult. It does have a cookie cutter character trope, but I did enjoy the romance/love triangle aspect. Upon reflection with this story, there are plot holes and the story would certainly benefit from a better editor. I liked the overall concept of the book and the plot twist at the end. The book was easy to read and she did a good job at world building, but I do wish she could flesh out the supporting characters a bit more. (Justice for poor Azul!) However, It was a quick enough read that I could overlook these opportunities that the author and publisher have with this series and I will definitely read the sequel.
The story is about a young royal from the Wilding court named Isla who is sent to participate in essentially a 100 day fantasy version of The Hunger Games. This event is named the Centennial and it involves 6 different realms that attempt over the 100 day period to break a curse that was put upon them 500 (?) years ago with the premise that one of them is supposed to die in order to save the other realms. Each realm has a different curse that affects their abilities in different ways and thus how they participate in the Centennial. However, to add a wrench to the Wildling's strategy: Isla has no powers. There's different trials that each realm ruler puts on that are supposed to help assess who they think should be sacrificed at the end of the 100 days. Throughout the book Isla makes friends and enemies with the different rulers, in addition to taking part in different side missions that ends up in a crazy plot twist.
The story is about a young royal from the Wilding court named Isla who is sent to participate in essentially a 100 day fantasy version of The Hunger Games. This event is named the Centennial and it involves 6 different realms that attempt over the 100 day period to break a curse that was put upon them 500 (?) years ago with the premise that one of them is supposed to die in order to save the other realms. Each realm has a different curse that affects their abilities in different ways and thus how they participate in the Centennial. However, to add a wrench to the Wildling's strategy: Isla has no powers. There's different trials that each realm ruler puts on that are supposed to help assess who they think should be sacrificed at the end of the 100 days. Throughout the book Isla makes friends and enemies with the different rulers, in addition to taking part in different side missions that ends up in a crazy plot twist.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Death, and Violence
Minor: Genocide
tiffanyfreads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
2.75
I came into this with an open mind and make an opinion myself on this book. I felt like the pacing was off because so little was happening then all these twists came at the end. There were several plot holes I noticed which took me out of the story. I think this would be appealing for those who are dipping their toes into fantasy but it just wasn’t the right book for me.
early on part of Isla’s supposed curse is the heart eating but of course we know she has no powers (or we thought so until plot twist) so how does she just eat chocolate with Grim and that isn’t weird. Cause that just gives away her secret to him. I also don’t fully like this memory erasing and the twists cause it just felt very strange. Grim felt so icky and then this romance with Oro is weird. The whole YA love triangle thing needs to end. I know teens can’t make decisions but can we just stop with it. I also just feel like this book definitely reads YA but I would say this is more NA so I wish we could make that distinction. Isla is supposed to be 19 so I don’t get why we have 19 year olds as YA leads what happened to a 16 year old. Leave those who are above 18 to the NA category. Anyway rant over just too many holes that I couldn’t get past
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, and Murder
Minor: Vomit
bekahzabel's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Happy that I finally read it myself to see where all the hype is coming from.
The good: The characters are likeable, it’s fast paced, high stakes, has some pretty good plot twists in the mix.
The bad: I felt like the world building was quite lacking. The setting could’ve been even more immersive with some more attention to detail regarding the imagery. I also felt like the plot had holes and couldn’t choose a direction at multiple points.
A 3 star read with a 4 star ending. I’ll continue on in the series, but it didn’t leave an insane impression on me.
The good: The characters are likeable, it’s fast paced, high stakes, has some pretty good plot twists in the mix.
The bad: I felt like the world building was quite lacking. The setting could’ve been even more immersive with some more attention to detail regarding the imagery. I also felt like the plot had holes and couldn’t choose a direction at multiple points.
A 3 star read with a 4 star ending. I’ll continue on in the series, but it didn’t leave an insane impression on me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Death
elislittlelibrary's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Unfortunately, I wasn't really a fan of Lightlark. My library has a copy, so I decided to read it to see what everyone was talking about. Now, the book is an easy and fast read, so that was good! However, both plot and characters failed to connect to the reader (or at least to me). There were quite a few potholes, etc. as well. The premise was interesting - a game on an island that appears every 100 years. However, I feel like this marketing is misleading. Yes, there is an island, but it doesn't just appear, many live on it. Essentially, the rulers of the realms are just brought to the island every 100 years. Also, I'd say that the games aren't what I expected. There are games (kind of?), but they are not the main focus of the plot, they are just there. It should also be noted that romance is a really big part of the plot. If you're looking for an easy read with mainly romance and a little plot as well, this might be for you, but if you're expecting a dangerous game and plotting around that, this will probably not fulfill that.
That being said, will I read the second book? Probably, if I find myself wanting an easy and quick read.
That being said, will I read the second book? Probably, if I find myself wanting an easy and quick read.
Content Warnings
Minor: Cannibalism, Blood, and Death
thereadingmarshmallow's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The book has a good base. The story is there, the plot is there, and the characters work. My main issue with this book is that nothing is fully explained. The FMC has decent development but the world building isn’t there like I would like for it to be. I don’t feel as though I can engage with the book like I want to because I don’t understand what’s fully going on, what their struggle is like.
That being said, I enjoy the plot and it was consumable. It took me a bit longer to get through it because I didn’t feel as engaged as I would like.
That being said, I enjoy the plot and it was consumable. It took me a bit longer to get through it because I didn’t feel as engaged as I would like.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Death, Blood, and Toxic friendship
shellbell_04's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Not gonna lie-love a good sun boi VS shadow daddy trope
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gaslighting, Violence, and Death of parent
Minor: Genocide
jessicaludden's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
“Love on Lightlark is a dangerous thing.”
I really enjoyed this. I was definitely confused in the beginning when it came to world building but I got to a certain point in the book and everything started clicking. I was really into the world building, I understood character motivations, and I liked the developing relationships. The plot of this book was really intriguing and I enjoyed the search for this ancient relic. There were many plot twists and betrayals at the end that had me on the edge of my seat. Overall I enjoyed it and I’m excited for the sequel!
I really enjoyed this. I was definitely confused in the beginning when it came to world building but I got to a certain point in the book and everything started clicking. I was really into the world building, I understood character motivations, and I liked the developing relationships. The plot of this book was really intriguing and I enjoyed the search for this ancient relic. There were many plot twists and betrayals at the end that had me on the edge of my seat. Overall I enjoyed it and I’m excited for the sequel!
Content Warnings
Minor: Blood, Death, Death of parent, and Murder
natashaleighton_'s review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Death of parent and Genocide
Minor: Sexual content and Fire/Fire injury